The 15th excavation season in ancient city of Phanagoria, in the Russian territory of Krasnodar, has yielded generous finds this year.
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
Members of the Phanagorian archaeological expedition conducted excavations in the ‘Upper city’ (centre of the ancient city of Phanagoria), the ‘Lower city’, the East and West necropoleis, and also on the part of the ancient city inundated by the sea.
In the western necropolis of ancient Phanagoria a Hellenistic-era stone-built vaulted tomb was located and excavated. According to Vladimir Kuznetsov, who heads the archaeological expedition, “This is the first well-preserved Hellenistic vaulted tomb discovered on the Taman Peninsula in recent years.”
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
“The tomb was built in the 3rd century BC in the embankment of an older burial mound and consisted of two underground rooms – a spacious burial chamber and a small room in front of it. Its walls were crowned with a cornice, which served as a support for a massive stone vault and a mound above it.
“Thanks to the solid construction of the stone structure, it was possible to reconstruct its height, which was 2.5 metres from the level of the limestone floor slabs,” Kuznetsov said .
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
“Unfortunately, the inner contents of the tomb leaves much to be desired. After surviving several looting attempt in antiquity, the tomb suffered noticeably in the late 20th century. Nevertheless, the remains of at least 10 people were found inside.”
Another significant find was made in the Eastern necropolis of Phanagoria, is that of mud-brick tomb of the 1st century AD. The Roman-era tomb has a unique design – its interior space begins directly under the entrance shaft, and the floor of the tomb was at a depth of 5 metres from the surface of the earth.
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
At the entrance to the burial chamber was found a large funerary urn with the remains of a cremated man. “From ancient texts it is known that in the ancient era the bones that survived after cremation were carefully assembled and washed with wine, and then, together with the ashes, neatly fit into the funeral urn. In the future, X-ray studies of the contents of the vessel are planned. With the help of modern methods, we hope to be able to study the contents of the vessel in its original form,” Kuznetsov said.
In addition, seven sarcophagi with the remains of adults and children were found in the tomb. Elegant vessels of Roman glass, including high-quality red lacquer ware, were among the grave goods retrieved.
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
Some elements of clothing, as well as brooches (fibulae) and pins, were likewise recovered. The deceased wore gold wreaths and their clothing embroidered with gold thread. Pendants from Egyptian faience: figurines in the form of frogs, beetles-scarabs and others were among the grave goods.
“The finds indicate that in the 1st-2nd centuries AD the Bosporan kingdom was well under the influence of Rome,” the archaeologist adds, “and despite the fact that the tomb was robbed in antiquity, the grave goods reflect the high social status of people buried here.”
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
One of the large sarcophagi contained the remains of young man with a long rider’s sword, the wooden hilt still embedded in the hand of the deceased warrior. Such weapons were often depicted on the Bosporan funeral stelae as the main weapon of the Bosporan horsemen.The blade was well suited for chopping blows, which is important for a warrior who fought on horseback
To their great surprise the archaeologist also found a glass vessel or ‘balsamarium’ still containing the liquid with which it was filled. “The discovery of large glass ‘balsamarium’ in the sarcophagus of the Phanagorian warrior-rider still containing the original liquid is a unique discovery. The contents of hundreds of similar vessels, found in Phanagoria earlier, were not preserved, they were all empty or filled with soil. The balsamarium found with the warrior is filled to half transparent liquid, on its bottom is visible a dark sediment. And it is the first time that I, and my colleagues have made such a find.” explained Kuznetsov.
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
“The mouth of the bottle was initially closed with a stopper, and later, when the vault of the crypt collapsed, it was sealed with clay. Such vessels were often used in the cities of the Bosporan kingdom in a funeral ceremony, and with the help of this find we will discover what kind of liquid the balsamaria contained.”
“The 1st century AD was the time when the war for the throne was going on inside the state, while at the same time barbarian tribes lived near the borders of the Bosporus kingdom, who actually thrived at the expense of the kingdom. The fact that we found this warrior gives us a perspective for understanding this time”, remarks Kuznetsov.
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| Credit: © Fanagoriyskaya Archaeological Expedition |
Phanagoria was founded in the 6th century BC on the Taman Peninsula. Later it became the capital of the Asian part of the Bosporan kingdom, created by the Greeks during their colonial expansion on the shores of the Black and Azov Seas. In the 4th century AD, the Greeks from the territory of the Taman Peninsula drove out the warlike tribes of the Huns.
Source: Live Kuban [September 07, 2018]
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